Don't practically all the criticisms against M4All also apply to the public option? [View all]

[Humanist_Activist]

Regardless of what words are used to describe it?

As far as I can tell, from a practical standpoint, you have one big conundrum, controlling medical costs. Negotiating rates is a must, whether its a "Public Option PPO" or Medicare, both Medical Care and Rx costs need to be under strict controls of some sort. Whether this is through negotiation or straight up fiat controls, something has to be done.

After that where is the money going to come from for a public options, a lot of ink has been spilled over how M4all will be funded, but a public options that isn't means tested(as promised by Biden) and is overall better than damn near any private insurance is going to have a ton of enrollees within a couple of years. I mean, it would be designed to help the majority of people who can't really afford to use the insurance they have now, or can't afford the premiums for plans on the exchange, so it will have to have some plan offers that are, in a sense, truly universal in pricing(damn near free at service), with nominal fees at worst. So where is the money for all inexpensive medical care going to come from?

And then there is the Red Herring that is "choice" something that even the original ACA promised, but didn't quite deliver, which makes this a silly complaint against M4all, of making private insurance "illegal" would be robbing people of their "choices" in health insurance. Which is weird, because I never had a choice, has anyone else ever had a true choice here? My insurance has always been provided by my employer, and the ACA made sure that was the only choice I had as well unless it hit a certain cost threshold(which it didn't). Not to mention the "market" for health insurance is laughable at best, there's very little competition here, nor would there be, more competitors literally adds inefficiencies and increased costs that are passed down to the patients. We are the product the insurance companies need, not the consumer, people seem to not understand that.

I mean, the illusion of choice that an "ACA+Public Option" has might be enough to allow it to be passed, and frankly I hope so, but I'm too cynical to think that the Republicans and Moderate Democrats won't start attacking that just as viciously as they do Medicare 4 all, and for all the same reasons as well.